Stored energy discharge circuitry is provided for a junction box having super capacitors and/or ultra capacitors, so as to discharge the capacitors prior to a technician servicing the junction boxes. That way, the technician will not be subject to a hazard (e.g., electrical shock) when performing electrical servicing of components within the junction box.
One conventional method to perform stored energy discharge of a junction box having at least one super capacitor or at least one ultra capacitor is the “hot stick discharging method.” In this method, a person physically takes the flying leads of a special purpose resistor and connects those leads to the positive and negative terminals of the super-capacitor or ultra-capacitor. The term “hot stick” refers to the use of sticks attached to the leads of the special purpose resistor, to give the person discharging the capacitor some distance for safety. It is typical for electric arc flash to occur when the connection is made in this manner, which provides a safety hazard to the person attaching the flying leads, no matter how far away that person is from the capacitor being coupled to the flying leads.
It is desirable to come up with a safer way to discharge stored energy of a super-capacitor or ultra-capacitor provided in a junction box than what is provided in the hot stick discharging method.